Health insurance exchange copes with last minute rush

Dec. 24, 2013
|

Johanna Diaz (L) sits with Certified Enrollment Specialist, Marlene Nesmith, as she tries to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care act at a Miami Enrollment Assistance Center on December 20, 2013 in Miami, Florida. Nesmith was having difficulties getting through to the governments Affordable Care Act website to sign her up due to the system being down or busy. / Joe Raedle Getty Images

by Jayne O'Donnell, USA TODAY

by Jayne O'Donnell, USA TODAY

As insurance shoppers raced to complete their shopping by midnight Christmas Eve, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Monday was record day for traffic on HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange handling sign ups for 36 states.

The call center received more than 250,000 calls and 2 million people visited the site, spokeswoman Julie Bataille said. The rush created a wait: More than 129,000 individuals left emails Monday as part of the "advanced queuing system." All received emails inviting them back the same day to complete their applications, Bataille said.

Volumes on Tuesday were high but not equal to Monday. No one had to wait, Bataille said. Thousands of people called the site's call centers, which would be open until midnight, and thousands more were completing enrollment online. The agency created "a robust casework process" to address individual inquiries, respond to specific situations, and help consumers transition to new coverage, she said.

The call center is closed on Christmas but will reopen on Dec. 26. The agency reminded that those who start the process of selecting a health plan after today will be covered as of Feb. 1.